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Union Square in New York City which would would have been part of the “de- calendaring.” (Flickr /massmatt)

As AN wrote earlier this week, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) was prepared to “de-calendar” about 100 historic buildings and sites at a meeting next Tuesday. The Commission’s planned action expectedly drew a loud and spirited backlash from preservation groups. Now, just a few days before the action was scheduled, it appears the response has had the desired effect. The New York Times is reporting that the Commission has withdrawn its proposal. “In withdrawing the proposal, [LPC Chair Meenakshi Srinivasan] said she wanted to provide more time for people to speak up for certain properties while making clear all would be dealt with sooner rather than later,” explained the Times.

To commemorate its 120th anniversary, the Van Alen Institute is opening a new street-level space in New York City next Tuesday. The space, designed by Collective–LOK and located at 30 West 22nd Street, functions as a programming hub, event space, and gallery. Collective–LOK is a collaboration between Jon Lott (PARA-Project), William O’Brien Jr. (WOJR), and Michael Kubo (over,under). The team’s proposal, called “Screen Play,” won the Institute’s 2013 Ground/Work competition, which received over 120 design submissions.

The Parson’s exhibit How Things Don’t Work: The Dreamspace of Victor Papanek should have the tagline, “There are few professions more harmful than industrial design.” Every designer should see the show before it closes on December 15. There are many designers today who believe that design—what we might think of as the planning or intention behind the creation of a material object—can solve almost any physical problem. But the Austrian-born and American-educated designer Papanek, the subject of this exhibition, had a different and more expansive view of the field.

Final rafter being installed on the Hub’s Oculus. (Courtesy Port Authority)

With the final rafter installed on Santiago Calatrava’s World Trade Center Transit Hub the New York Times has done a deep-dive on how, exactly, the long-delayed structure ended up costing close to $4 billion. While the hub ultimately looks more like a stegosaurus than a dove taking flight, as Calatrava originally envisioned, it is undeniably a head-turning piece of dramatic architecture. But one that will be forever grounded by the reality of its staggering price tag.

It’s impossible to look at renderings of Herzog & de Meuron’s 56 Leonard and not immediately think of Jenga, the game guaranteed to shame one unlucky partygoer for pulling the wrong piece and ruining everyone’s fun. Good times! Anyway, back to 56 Leonard in New York City—the 60-story, glassy version of that nerve-wracking game.

View of Penn Station from the 1967 edition of Nathan Silver’s Lost New York.

The New York Preservation Archive Project’s Eleventh Annual Bard Birthday Breakfast Benefit is taking place at the D&D Building on December 10th. The Archive is devoted to documenting, preserving, and celebrating the history of historic preservation in New York City and bringing its stories to light through public programs, oral histories, and the creation of public access to information.

The Noguchi Museum in Queens, New York has bestowed its second annual Isamu Noguchi Award to designer Jasper Morrison and architect Yoshio Taniguchi. This eponymous accolade is given to professionals who, like Noguchi, are leaders in the fields of design and architecture, and “kindred spirits in innovation, global consciousness, and Japanese/American exchange,” the museum said in a statement.

New York Times architecture critic Michael Kimmelman has weighed-in on 1 World Trade, New York‘s tallest,most superlative, open-but-not-yet-completed skyscraper. And, spoiler, he is no fan. Kimmelman’s piece is so chock-full of quotable critiques, it’s hard to decide where exactly to begin. But let’s start with the politics.

New York City is a city like no other. It’s lousy with things to see: architectural icons, world-famous parks, A-list celebrities, pigeons, food carts, and pigeons eating off of food carts. With so many sites, it’s a real bummer that so many New Yorkers walk around the city staring directly into the hollow glow of their phones. This isn’t going to change anytime soon, especially with the de Blasio administration announcing that, starting next year, the city’s dated payphone system will become “the world’s fastest municipal Wi-Fi network.”

The New York Wheel is planned for Staten Island. (Courtesy New York Wheel)

The planned giant Ferris wheel in Staten Island—one of kookier of the Bloomberg-era megaprojects—is apparently still happening. Eavesdrop always thought the step-Borough deserved more than a tourist trap wheel and a giant outlet mall, but hey, apparently Amanda Burden thought differently. According to the Associated Press, New York Wheel CEO Rich Marin said the project will include a thrill ride that will “simulate a ride in a subway car.” Here’s a better idea: buy a MetroCard.

The facade and skyline. (Courtesy SHoP & JDS Development Group via 6sqft)

Despite concerns that New York City’s high-end housing bubble is about to burst, the supertall towers that have come to symbolize that upper-echelon of the market keep coming, one after the other. Now, with One57 open, and 432 Park topped off, SHoP’s 111 W. 57th Street—widely seen as the most attractive of the bunch—is preparing to head skyward. As the tower begins its roughly 1,400-foot climb, new renderings and details of the project have surfaced.